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You’d be surprised at the tech toys you can buy at your local dollar store.

In our popular first round-up of top dollar-store gadgets, we looked at an iPhone lock, an LED book light with retractable arm, a camera tripod, a security alarm, a scientific calculator, a battery tester and headphones for active types.

At dollar stores, you can’t expect the same quality (or longevity) as pricier counterparts from Big Box stores. But you could save a bundle by picking up serviceable high-tech knickknacks for just $1 or $2 apiece.

Comparable products — electronics staples such as an iPhone charger for the car, a universal remote for the TV, or a memory card reader for a computer — are priced as high as $25 or more at established electronics retailers. I found that the no-name (or less-known-name) versions of these from the dollar store worked well enough after nearly three weeks' of testing. Will they keep working? Hard to say, but it makes you question what kind of mark-up the big stores slap on such tech items.

Here are seven more gadgets and gizmos we found at dollar stores around Greater Toronto, such as Dollarama, Everything For a Dollar, 99¢ Depot and Absolute Dollar.

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iPhone/iPod charger, $2: Road warriors, listen up. Tech1’s charger is an all-white, in-car power supply and charger designed for most Apple iPods (except iPod shuffle) and iPhones. Plug one end into the cigarette lighter in your vehicle (or whatever this port is called these days), and a small green LED light on the charger will confirm power. Now snap the familiar 30-pin dock on the other end of the cord to the bottom of the iPod or iPhone to begin charging. Why pay more elsewhere?

“Leather” iPod case, $1: Note the quotation marks around the word leather. But Init’s faux leather Portfolio Case for iPod nano (4th generation) looks and feels like the real deal. More importantly, it protects your investment because you slide the device inside this fitted case. The textured cover closes over the screen and the wheel and is locked into place via a magnetic clasp. A small hole at the bottom lets you connect earphones so you can use it without taking the player out of the case. The Init brand is owned by Best Buy.

Computer microphone, $1: If you enjoy chatting online with friends and family — be it with video via Skype or during a heated game of StarCraft II — you can improve the audio quality with an external microphone. Available in black or white, the HRS Global Clip-on Computer Microphone can be clipped onto a shirt or blouse. Or you can remove the adhesive backing, and mount the mic onto the side of a monitor. You plug the other end of the 2.2-metre cable into the computer’s 3.5 mm microphone jack. While not delivering terrific quality, this mic did prove to be better solution than a webcam's microphone, probably because it was clipped to a shirt pocket, closer to my mouth.

Calculator watch, $2: As the name suggests, Kenko’s Calculator Watch (model KK-628) is a digital wristwatch that provides the date and time on its 8-line LCD screen. When you need to crunch numbers — at the bank, restaurant, supermarket or while doing homework — press the red On button and start calculating. Basic tasks include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, along with square root, percentage and memory functions. Available in black or grey, the watch includes a battery (LR1130).

Batteries and tester, $1: We found a four-pack of Camelion-branded AA (1.5 volt) batteries — and a bundled AA or AAA battery tester — all for a mere $1. Surprisingly, the batteries have lasted a few weeks (so far) in a children’s toy. The label says there is no mercury or cadmium in them. The orange battery tester has a small LED light near the top that lights up brightly if the battery power is good, dimmer if weak, or it won’t turn on at all if a battery is dead. The small tester doesn’t require any power to run and works with both disposable and rechargeable batteries.

5-in-1 universal remote, $2: You could spend a lot of cash on a good universal remote. While this Electra-branded Universal Remote Control doesn’t have any bells and whistles, it does the trick. Requiring two AA batteries (not included), the silver wireless remote is fairly easy to program (a code book included) and offers dedicated buttons on the top for TV, DVD, VCR, CBL/SAT and AUDIO. Plus, along with channel up and down, it features a TV/Video button to cycle through your inputs, a Sleep button, Mute, DVD Menu, Picture-in-Picture, Guide, and more.

Memory card reader, $2: Simplify getting photos and videos off your camera (or moving music and audiobooks onto your smartphone) with this handy accessory that is compatible with PCs and Macs. Rather than relying on the various USB cables that come with your devices (which can be cumbersome to use or easily lost), Tech 1’s multi-card reader has small ports that accept various sizes memory cards. These include Secure Digital (SD and SDHC), microSD (popular in smartphones), Memory Stick and Memory Stick Micro (M2). A small USB 2.0 cord pulls out of the bottom of the blue-and-white device, so you can plug the unit into a computer, which will read what’s on the card. You take it from there, using the mouse to drag and drop files on or off.

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